Break in Spurs’ schedule coming — no, really, it is

The 2012-13 NBA season has not been compressed into four months, as was the 66-game 2011-12 season that followed the league’s labor lockout of the players.

There have been no back-to-back-to-back games; not a single week with five games crammed into seven days.

It only seems that way to the Spurs.

San Antonio will reach week’s end having played more games (47) than any of the other 29 NBA teams, including more road games (25).

That they enter tonight’s game at the AT&T Center against the New Orleans Hornets, a team they already have faced three times, with the league’s third-best record strikes coach Gregg Popovich as something of a minor miracle.

“It’s been a tough beginning, travel-wise,” Popovich said. “We’re getting to be a pretty tired team. It’s been a lot of games quickly. We’ve never had this many games in this period of time before.”

Popovich knows that eventually all 30 teams play 82 games in the same amount of time. At the moment, that is small consolation

“I guess it means that later on this season, we’ll fall asleep for a while,” he said.

In fact, the first real break in the frenetic pace comes after Saturday’s home game against the Suns. Sunday will be the first of three days off before a Wednesday game against Charlotte. That game will be followed by another two days off before the Spurs play Washington and then another three days off before heading off on the annual rodeo road trip.

This year’s rodeo trip is nine-game excursion that will consume 19 days in February, albeit with the All-Star break breaking it into distinct legs of five games and four games.

For now, the stretch of two games in 10 days seems like the light at the end of a long tunnel.

“Exactly,” Popovich said. “We’ll need it because we’ve got nine in a row on that rodeo trip. We’ll look forward to that rest.”

Tonight’s game against the Hornets presents a challenge more daunting than the casual observer might think. Though New Orleans is 14-27, 14th in the 15-team Western Conference, the Hornets have won seven of their last 10 games.

Their improved play has coincided directly with the return of shooting guard Eric Gordon, perhaps their best player. He missed the first 31 games with a patella tendon injury and a bone bruise in his right knee.

The Spurs don’t have to be told how dangerous the Hornets have become with Gordon in the lineup. He scored on four straight fourth-quarter possessions in New Orleans’ 95-88 victory over the Spurs on Jan. 7 at New Orleans Arena. Three of his baskets were on unstoppable, step-back jumpers over Danny Green, helpless to do anything but watch each shot go in.

Even with Gordon on the injured list, the Spurs had to fight to the finish to get victories in their first two games against the Hornets. They rallied for a 99-95 win in the season opener at New Orleans on Halloween night. They scored a 99-94 victory at the AT&T Center on Dec. 21.

Acutely aware that fatigue has begun to affect his team, Popovich rested Tim Duncan in Atlanta, the second game of a back-to-back set. On two days off, the 36-year-old team captain scored 24 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and had five assists in Monday’s win at Philadelphia.

On his way to his second-highest rebounding game of the season, Duncan passed Jerry Lucas on the NBA’s all-time rebound list. By game’s end, his career total stood at 12,944. He had five rebounds in the final seven minutes of the game, when the Spurs erased a seven-point 76ers lead and rallied for the win.

“Down the stretch, he didn’t just score, but he rebounded for us,” Popovich said. “It’s pretty amazing what he does, night after night.”

What’s next on schedule?

Rest from the grind: After hosting Phoenix on Saturday, the Spurs get three days off before hosting Charlotte on Jan. 30, then two days off before facing Washington at home Feb. 2.

Rodeo road trip: Nine games, with first five in eight nights, then last four in nine nights. Right now, only four of those games are against teams above .500 — but those come in back-to-backs — Brooklyn on Feb. 10; Chicago on Feb. 11; L.A. Clippers on Feb. 21; Golden State on Feb. 22.

Settle in at home: The Spurs will play a whopping 17 of their last 24 games after the rodeo road trip at the AT&T Center.